The news may be full of stories of startup layoffs, but demand for technology jobs is actually rising in several U.S. markets – including South Florida.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were among the top markets for the growth of tech job postings during the first six months of the year, according to the Dice Tech Job Report, an analysis that looks at hiring trends by location, employers, role and skills.
South Florida was one of three emerging tech hubs – along with San Antonio, Texas and Minneapolis, Minnesota – highlighted by the report. It notes the Miami-area's tech sector began capturing national headlines in 2021 after Mayor Francis Suarez, in a viral tweet, encouraged founders and investors to trade the San Francisco Bay Area for the Magic City during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since then, investors like SoftBank and Tiger Global Management have directed hundreds of millions of dollars towards local tech businesses. Homegrown companies such as Reef Technology and Papa reached unicorn status over the past two years, with their valuations surpassed $1 billion.
"The rise of Miami’s tech scene has relied on a handful of key factors, including sustained investment, a tight-knit group of local founders and enough demand to power strong salary growth," the report stated.
The Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor reports South Florida was the 10th most-active market for venture capital investment in the first half of 2022, with $2.5 billion invested in local startups. That includes $1.1 billion raised during the second quarter alone – nearly double the amount secured during the same period of 2021.
Other takeaways from the Dice report:
Job postings up, but Miami still lags longtime tech hubs
South Florida ranked 20th among U.S metros with the most overall tech job postings, behind traditional hubs like New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston. But the Miami area came in at No. 2 for tech job posting growth, with new job advertisements up 104% year-over-year.
A slowdown in the housing market is expected to affect hiring growth in certain locations.
Dice isn't the only publication to report an uptick in local tech job postings: In May, CompTIA found that job advertisements were up 51%, with 22,735 postings added between January and April.
Who's hiring?
The companies with the most technology job postings in South Florida are: Anthem Blue Cross, Deloitte, Accenture, Dell, ChenMed and UKG Incorporated.
What kind of roles are they filling?
Some jobs are in much higher demand than others. In South Florida, the top positions employers are hiring for are software developers and engineers; project managers; network engineers and architects; business analysts; IT project managers; and computer support specialists. The average salary for technology industry roles was $92,004 in 2021, up 11.4% from the year before.
That matches national trends as well: Software engineers, business analysts and data analysts are the most in-demand tech jobs in the U.S. across all industries.
What skills are employers looking for?
Businesses are hungry for hires with technical skills like engineering and computer programming. Nationally, agile methodology (a certain approach to project management), the programming language SQL, troubleshooting, the programming language Python and software engineering were the most common tech skills desired by companies during the first half of 2022.
Businesses must stand out in tight labor market
More companies than ever are in need of technology talent as businesses across every sector invest in the digital side of their operations. As a result, competition for new hires is still tight – and that isn't expected to change anytime soon.
That means the onus is on businesses to find ways to break away from the pack.
"It will be important for employers to keep a pulse on two things: what candidates are looking for from their next opportunity and what your competition is doing to recruit tech talent," the Dice report said.
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